Scissor-action tools for cutting cables and similar workpieces have cutting blades that typically are guided when cutting so they do not bend away from each other and from the cutting plane they define. The shearing blade tips must be able to open wide enough to allow a cable to enter through the front of the tool (thus enabling lateral cable engagement) and then travel through the cable until it is severed. Ideally, the blades should travel from fully open to the “guided” position before cutting begins.